Swansea team transforms face masks into Ethernet cables

The process converts the carbon found in the discarded masks to create high-quality single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT), which were then used to make Ethernet cable with broadband quality.

Published in Carbon Letters, the study outlines how this green chemistry could be used to upcycle materials which would otherwise be thrown away and transform them into high value materials with real-world applications.

According to the team, the CNTs produced by this technique have the potential not only to be used in Ethernet cables, but also in the production of lightweight batteries used in electric cars and drones.

Professor Alvin Orbaek White, of Swansea University’s Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI), described single-use facemasks as a ‘real travesty for the recycling system’ due to the vast amounts of plastic waste created, much of which ends up in the ocean.

“During the study, we established that the carbon inside the facemask can be used as a pretty good feedstock to make high-quality materials like CNTs,” he said.

“CNTs are highly sought-after because they have preferential physical properties and tend to be much more costly on an industrial scale. So, through this study, we demonstrated that we could make very high value materials by processing the CNTs from what are, essentially, worthless waste facemasks.”

The team also studied the energy costs involved in using this process and concluded that the technique was green not only in levels of resource consumption but also in the product value generation as opposed to waste creation.

The Ethernet cable produced using the CNTs was good quality and adhered to Category 5 transmission speeds while easily exceeding the benchmarks set for broadband internet in most countries, including the UK, researchers confirmed.

“Using CNT films in batteries instead of metal films has a lower impact on the environment as the use of carbon offsets the need for mining and extraction activities,” said Prof. Orbaek White.

“This is a crucial piece of work as it contributes to not only a circular economy but is also scalable and is viable for industrial processing and has green chemistry at its core.”